GHC: Collaboration and Change Are in the Air

I am waiting to board my (very) delayed plane in Portland and reflecting on yet another enriching and diverse TechWomen experience. It was so satisfying to spend time with the seven Mentees who joined TechWomen staff at Grace Hopper this week. We are grateful to Google, NetApp and Huawei for sponsoring the scholarships to bring the seven Mentees here, as well as to the US Department of State for its ongoing and generous support of the program. I only wish all 37 TechWomen had been able to be here with us! This will actually be the case in 2012 when all 42 Mentees will go from their Silicon Valley mentorships to Baltimore for Grace Hopper and then on to DC to meet with Secretary Clinton and other State Department officials! This will be an amazing opportunity for Mentees and Mentors alike because Grace Hopper is INSPIRING, not to mention a forum to exchange expertise and ideas and network with nearly 3,000 of the smartest and most successful technical women in the US and from 35 countries around the globe. Thanks to our partners at ABI for this unique and impressive event!

Through each experience I have with TechWomen Mentors and Mentees, I gain a greater appreciation of the enormous impact and multiplier effect of this initiative. Whether in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa, or elsewhere, these talented and dedicated technical women (TechWomen or not) are paving the way for a more equitable, prosperous and secure future for our daughters and sons. Thank you TechWomen!

Heather Ramsey is the Director of the TechWomen program at the Institute of International Education (IIE), West Coast Center. Follow her on twitter @hramseyIIESF.